yay! time for wimbledon tennis again!

One of the best things of living in Wimbledon is the tennis at the Lawn Tennis Club every year. Wimbledon village is buzzing with Londoners and visitors from almost everywhere. The pubs are overflowing and the Pimms are flowing! Who do you think will lift the trophy this year? Will Nadal hang on to the coveted silverware?

JFK and Jackie playing tennis. Image via aspiringkennedy.com

Tennis Matches. Image via piccsy.com

Wimbledon tennis poster from Vintage Fine Art Prints

Legends: Bjorn Borg & John McEnroe. Image via dailymail.co.uk

friday loves

In true rainy weekend style, there's a 15% discount offer in The Mengsel Shop all weekend. I'm sure you'll find something bright and colourful to cheer yourself up, even when it is grey and wet outside. To receive 15% discount, enter the coupon code RAINYWEEKEND at the checkout. Click HERE to go shopping.
Friday loves for a rainy London weekend...

1. Kate Spade Flicker Bon Shopper
2) Thomas Paul reversible aqua banner pillow
3) Hatty 2 Bow Sandles from Topshop
4) Relight Candle Holder Range from Heal's
5) Double breasted raincoat from Zara
6) Modern Vintage Style at Anthropologie
7) Lemon Meringue cupcake - recipe from Martha Stewart

Brand new silkscreen print: "Picnic"

Introducing my newest hand pulled silkscreen print, "Picnic". How ironic that I'm listing this during a raging snow storm outside!

Dining al fresco in the park on a red plaid sheet with a basket full of fresh French bagels, jam, a selection of cheeses and a few glasses of vino: The simple pleasures! "Picnic" is one of my orginal illustrations, drawn by hand and silkscreen printed in my studio in bright red and black on crisp white 220gsm Daler Rowney paper (made in the UK). Available to purchase in my Etsy shop, Folksy shop and The Mengsel shop. Hope you like it?

"Picnic" original silkscreen print

"Picnic" original silkscreen print

"Picnic" original silkscreen print

Mengsel's shipping dates from the UK for Christmas 2010!

England Post Office Letter Box - London. Photo by Rebecca Plotnick at Etsy

Hope everybody is ready for the festive season? Here in London, they are already predicting snow for this weekend and yesterday I sampled the delicious Eggnog Latte at Starbucks. Yum! The shops are all very festive and the lights are on and everything is very magical.

I hope that you will be buying something handmade and special for your beloved friends and family this season. Just a little information about the very latest shipping dates for Mengsel's hand pulled silkscreen prints, tea towels, cushion covers and pillowcase sets: All items are shipped from London with the United Kingdom's very trusty Royal Mail. I will be doing my very best to get all your Christmas post to you as soon as I can, but there are certain time limits for shipping abroad. Please see the dates below for the last dates for shipping in order for you Christmas present to arrive in each part of the world:

Monday 6 December 2010:       Australia, New Zealand and South Central America
Thursday 9 December 2010:        United States, Canada and everywhere else
Monday 13 December 2010:     Europe
Tuesday 21 December 2010:    United Kingdom

Please don't hesitate to contact me directly at mengseldesign@gmail.com if you need any further information.

Folksy Friday: Carnival

For those of you lucky enough to get away for the bank holiday weekend, I will try my best not to be jealous. For those of us stuck in rainy London this weekend, the Notting Hill Carnival is here. So will you be getting your carnival on in London Town? For this week's Folksy Friday post, I chose these beautiful carnival inspired, nostalgic and dreamy images from some of Folksy's most talented photographers. Happy Bank Holiday weekend!

Carousel De Paris - 10x8 inch photograph by Tim Irving at Folksy

Run 8x8 inch print by Lola's Room

Good, Clean Fun! Fine Art Lomo Pring by Emma in Wonderland Photography at Folksy

Big Wheel 8x8 inch print by Cassia Beck at Folksy

New "Ceramic Study" cushion colourways: white/petrol blue

Now available in Mengsel's Etsy shop. Ceramic study cushion covers in petrol blue ink on white cotton drill with the inverse option of white ink on petrol blue cotton drill. Silkscreen printed by hand and sewn together in the Mengsel studio. Working great as a set, these colourful cushions are ready for your home.

Ceramic study cushion cover in petrol blue on white cotton

Ceramic study cushion cover in white on petrol blue cotton

Ceramic Study cushion covers in new white / petrol blue colourway

Tag! You're It!: Rachie's Place - a vintage shop

My love of vintage homewares can be traced back to a high school girl wandering the streets of Cape Town, marveling at all the beautiful mid-century designs and wondering why the hell somebody would dump these beautiful pieces in a junk shop. Turns out, I'm not the only one.

As part of Tania from Indobay's "tag: your're it!" concept of blogging about other Papernstitch sellers, my shop of choice is the vintage shop of Rachie's Place. I was actually tagged in this blog post by lovely fellow South African (currently living in sunny California) Silvana Ferreira from Leefee Design. Sharing exhibition space with Mengsel on Paperntitch this month, Rachel Hare Mason from Kansas City's vintage shop is filled with amazing treasures. What is so great about the Rachie's Place etsy shop, is that each item is lovingly sourced with a brief history of each piece. I think that is why I love vintage pieces so much: the story behind it and its journey. Buying vintage and combining them with new pieces can really bring some personality to your home.

I also discovered the Rachie's Place blog. Here are a few of my favourite items from the shop:

Vintage 1971 Green Thermos by King-Seely Thermos Company. Love the graphics, colours and Scandinavian aesthetic. 

Another bright red vintage thermos from the same company as above. All the pieces are in really great condition. 

Vintage Chadwick Diet Scale. I'm actually more interested in the graphic illustration on the packaging!

Braniff International Airways were in operation from 1928 through 1982 and this little plastic coffee pot were used onboard to serve passengers.

Milk Bottle from Valley Farm in St. Louis. "Tones up your system". So funny. Would look great with a single long stemmed flower in it.